Beyond the Boxscore for September 2, 2008
Dustin Pedroia is My Hero!
I can’t hide my allegiance anymore, Dustin Pedroia never ceases to amaze me. To quote the movie Rudy, he’s “5 foot nothing, 100 and nothing” and all he does is hit everything. Tonight he went 3-5, added his 43rd double, hit his 16th homerun, and knocked in 5 runs. Oh yeah, he did it all in the midst of a pennant race, in the fishbowl that is Boston, while batting 4th in their lineup. Unbelievable. The crowd at Fenway has begun to chant MVP everytime he gets up. Which, at first I must admit I just laughed off as a cute way of showing appreciation for everyone’s favorite example of hustle and “what baseball is really about.” However, if you start breaking down his chances, they aren’t half bad!
So let’s take a look, and try to figure out if he has a legitimate shot. First off, unless someone has a historically great year, like A-Rod did the year he won it with Texas, the MVP must be from a playoff team. Check. The voters rarely give it to a pitcher. Check. The voters always weigh in way too much on performance in August and September. Check. According to the voters, being a middle infielder makes you infinitely more important to your team than say a left fielder. Check. OK, OK, so he has some of those credentials, but surely his overall numbers aren’t good enough.
Well, let’s dig even deeper… Pedroia has hit safely in 7 straight, and is batting .600 (18-for-30) over that time. He also leads the American League in hitting with a .330 average. He leads the league in hits with 188 and in runs with 108. He’s now got 16 HR and 17 SB, so he has a very good shot of being 20/20. He’s doing all this while playing gold glove caliber defense at a middle infield position. Insert chant now, “MVP, MVP, MVP.”
But What About Carlos Quentin?
I think if the AL MVP vote were to be cast right now, then Carlos Quentin would be the winner. And he is more than deserving. Although, if the Whitesox slide out of first in the Central and the BoSox hang on for the wildcard, then Quentin’s chances would be significantly diminished by missing the playoffs. Another thing to keep an eye on, is Quentin missed tonight’s contest with a sore forearm. If he struggles in September or misses a week or two, that will knock him down a bit. Just as a point of reference, Quentin’s numbers thus far are: .287, 36, 100. At the very least hopefully, I’ve got you thinking! By the way, a lot will happen that effects the voting in September, and I realize that I didn’t mention a lot of other qualified candidates.
What Else Happened on Tuesday?
39 year old Mike Mussina still has a great chance to reach 20 wins this year for the first time in his very long and successful career. As completely asinine and silly as it may sound, a 20 win season for Mussina may be what stands between him and Cooperstown. HOF voters are a finicky bunch, and they will use a minor argument like that in order to make an excuse to keep a borderline player out. In any regards, the Moose pitched another solid game tonight, going 6 IP, 2 ER, 8 K’s. It will be an awfully interesting off season this year for the Yanks, and what to do with Mussina will only add to the drama.
Victor Martinez hit his first homerun of the season today?! How is this possible, that it took until September? Granted, he only has 212 AB’s this year, but still, how does this happen? I suppose you can look at Martinez’s struggles as a microcosm of the Indians season. Martinez has been one of the few backstops worth drafting early in fantasy leagues. Last year his numbers were .301, 25, 114. It really sucks if you picked him early in your draft. At the very least, maybe next year, he will be so devalued, that he’ll make for a nice sleeper pick. However, I’m sure that’s of no help to current owners.
Injury News
Any injury to a guy like Ben Sheets can be a frightening thing to many fantasy owners. But the groin injury that pulled him from his last start seems to be minor, and all indications are that he will make his next scheduled start. More good news on the starting pitcher injury front. Redsox ace Josh Beckett is scheduled to come off the DL and make a start on Friday. This is a shock to me, because he went to see the infamous Dr. James Andrews after feeling elbow discomfort in his last start. Seeing Andrews, usually spells doom for athletes. Troy Percival was activated off the DL today. He’s been out since mid August with a bum knee. Not surprising, for a guy of his age, with his injury past. However, Percival, has been a pleasant surprise for most of the year for fantasy owners. Here’s to hoping, he can hold up for September.
